[Andorion]

I have a bit of a confession to make. I have not actually read even a single book of the Wheel of Time series. I have known of the series for years. I have been meaning to read the series for years. I could have read the series any time I chose, as my brother has the entire series. But I never got around to it. Now, I think I should read it. But before taking the plunge, and its a damn big plunge, I wanted some advice here. How exactly is the series? I mean its bloody huge. I have seen some of those books and I think the page count is way more than MBotF. Should I start it? Will it be hard work or a brilliant adventure like Malazan?

I really need some advice here. Also when should I start it? I am currently about 50% through Ryan's Tower Lord. My immediate TBR list is a bit like this:
Hannu Rajanaemi
Matthew Stover
David Gemmel (Troy)
Warren Ellis (Novels)
Plus there's Max Gladstone book out this month and Daniel Abraham's Dagger and Coin No. 4 coming out next month, plus Assail.
So, if I read Wheel of Time, where should it go? Top of the list? Bottom of the list? Middle of the list?
Really need help guys!

Incidentally has anyone heard of Fritz Leiber? (Not sure about the spelling)

This post has been edited by Andorion: 18 July 2014 - 03:40 AM

[Abyss]

Leiber is a classic of the fantasy genre and totally worth your time and eyeballs. His Fafhrd and Grey Mouser characters are the archetypes virtually all great buddy fantasy characters grew from and his Lankhmar is an epic place.
As for WoT vs your TRP... Tough call.

[worry]

You may think you haven't read Wheel of Time yet, but it really just depends on which part of the wheel you're focusing on.

After all...

Spoiler

Time is a flat circle.

[Defiance]

Go into Wheel of Time with the intention of reading all 14 books back to back. If you stop, there's a good chance you won't be able to muster up the will to continue. I stopped roughly halfway through and I've never been able to get into it again; I know many other people experience the same.

[amphibian]

Dead serious about this - there's two books in the middle that you're better off reading the wiki summaries for.

So if you can read the series up until Crossroads of Twilight, then read the wiki summary for that and Knife of Dreams, return to Sanderson's completion of the series, you might actually have a decent time.

I think the time is better used on better books, but it is a huge seller in the SF field and that may count for something to you.

[Tiste Simeon]

Read book 1 once years ago. Never read another. Don't feel like I missed a thing.

[Obdigore]

Don't bother.

[Andorion]

Right, so the series is a difficult read. OK. Nice advice about the prequel, will keep that in mind. I don't really have a thing about reading the books because they are bestsellers but because many people have told me they are a major landmark in the world of fantasy. Is that statement accurate?

Actually I often find myself veering away from the super-hype mainstream stuff. ( I have made up my mind not to touch Martin's A song of ice and fire till he finishes that monster)

This back to back read idea is a bit tough. The books are huge. I don't think I can finish the series fully this year, as apart from the books I have already mentioned there's Richard Morgan's Dark Defiles, a Peter Hamilton book in October/November, and a couple of others. Plus Abyss tells me that Fritz Leiber is a classic author, so that's added to my pile...... Sigh...

So.... what to do now...... Postpone? I actually have a nice free period till the end of August. This would have been a nice time for a new project.....

[Macros]

Honestly if you want to read it, you're going to do it.
Id say read the first three then just stop, it doesn't get any better and the ever bloating cast drags the series down so badly in the later books its ridiculous.
also crossroads of twilight is fucking awful

[Macros]

Actually.
scrap that, go read Troy immediately

[Tarthenal Theloman Toblakai]

also George R R Martin takes so damn long to release a book, he may not actually finish the series at the rate he is going. He is already in his 60s, and he has said that if he died before the end, he wouldn't let anybody finish the series, and he is not exactly a healthy spritely, 60 something year old either. He keeps pissing about with the TV series and little spin off books and other things, that would normally be joyous, but 6 years between books, sad panda Finish the main series please!

[Stormcat]

I started WoT back when only the first three were out. I very much enjoyed it back then. The last few Jordan books were a painful slog and I almost didn't pick up the last three. I am so glad I did. Sanderson breathed new life into that series. I would never even consider a re-read though.

[Andorion]

Thinking about a trial read... Read Stover first, then read the first three-four books, see how it goes....

[Kaamos]

I would not recommend it at all. It has a few interesting moments, but then begins to repeat itself, wasting tens or hundreds of pages on insignificant details and, frankly put, naive storytelling. I ended up bursting to laughter at the sheer idiocy of some of the scenes more than once (like the frequent spanking, and his obsession to make the female gown necklines seesaw up and down in the world of dreams). The characters...argh. Jordan could not grasp the female psyche at all, and possibly in his frustration ended up lumping everyone into the same mold of a huffy, nagging caricature suffering from PMS during every day of her life. Just...painful to read.

Bucketfuls of better authors out there; rather proceed to those on your list and add for instance some Stephen R. Donaldson (one of Erikson's huge influences), Terry Pratchett, Brandon Sanderson, etc.

This post has been edited by Kaamos: 18 July 2014 - 08:35 AM

[champ]

Read Stover or Gemmell...

I gave up half way through the fourth WoT book after I bought the first six, just couldn't subject myself to them anymore.

Each to their own though!

[Traveller]

I've never been inspired to read it. Reading should be a pleasure, not a slog or a feat of endurance... and of all the things I ever hear about it, being a great read is rarely among them.

Also, Stover is so good, that I found it really difficult to find something to follow it. Following it up with a long winded series that many people suggest not reading at all may not be the best idea imo.

(By the way I went straight to Peter Clines' Ex series after Caine, which worked really well.)

This post has been edited by Traveller: 18 July 2014 - 09:14 AM

[McLovin]

I was with WOT from the very beginning, loved the first four books, but after book 6 it became like being forced to watch someone slowly strangle your puppy to death. Every once in a while I will think to myself I need to check out the finale just to see how it did finally end, but it probably wouldn't make sense to me at this point and there is no way in hell I'm reading or re-reading any of the other books to put it in context. WOT is a landmark in fantasy like the Hindenburg is a landmark in aviation.

[QuickTidal]

To chime in, I boarded the WOT bandwagon late in the game (I think all the books except the last two were out at the time), and I read them all successively.

I enjoyed the first few, slogged mostly through the middle ones, and enjoyed MOST of how Sanderson ended it.

But after I did so, I looked at the collection of books on my shelf and decided to sell it as I'd never ever read it again, and that I'd largely wasted my time.

So, YMMV, but I'm a little conflicted I'd spent so much money on a series that I only enjoyed about 6 books of.

[Tarcanus]

To offset some of the bad press WoT is getting, here's a more positive spin:

It's definitely NOT a hard read until you get to the slow books. Book 1 is meant to be a familiar launching point that will remind you of Lord of the Rings when the Hobbits leave the shire on an important quest. It's meant to be that way and by the end of the first book it's already moving away from the familiar. Books 2-6 are good reads. 5 can get a little slow because of your introduction into the culture of a new group of people, but has enough awesome to balance that out, easily. Book 7 is the one I can't stand because I don't like the heavy focus on the female characters in that one, but Mat's parts are pretty amusing in it, nonetheless. 8 has an awesome political moment, but other than that, I agree that it'd be okay to read a chapter summary for this one. 9 is great and major events occur here that are worth the read. 10 was a failed structure experiment on Jordan's part and I agree that you could read chapter summaries and be okay. I thought 11 was a return to form. Jordan wrapped up a plodding storyline and got the awesome back into the series.

When it comes to how Brandon finished the whole thing up:

It's a solid finish with the action and structure you'd expect from Sanderson. That said, you also have the lackluster prose, and he slaughters some of the characters throughout his three novels. And by slaughter, I mean writes them horribly. There is also the problem of the finale feeling rushed because they just wanted to get the WoT series finished. Much of the last book leaves much to be desired. Brandon did an admirable job, but it wasn't RJ, unfortunately.

[Traveller]

That's just what I mean QT - I just don't feel motivated to read something that leaves me feel like that on completion. Especially if you thought that about it having read through it.